Jamaica braced for impact on Wednesday as Hurricane Beryl approached the Caribbean island nation as a Category 4 superstorm, with evacuation orders issued amid forecasts of life-threatening strong winds and flooding.
Beryl’s path remains unclear, but Texas officials are warning coastal residents to prepare over the holiday weekend in case the tropical weather reaches the U.S. Gulf Coast.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday directed the Texas Emergency Management Agency to issue a hurricane watch for the state and the Texas Emergency Management Council.
The governor said the state “stands ready to deploy all available resources and assistance to coastal communities.”
The storm destroyed homes and destroyed farms on islands across the Caribbean, and at least seven people are known to have died.
The tiny island nation of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines was hit hard, with at least one person killed and fears of more deaths. In Grenada, where at least three people have died, Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell said many homes had been destroyed and called the storm’s effects “like Armageddon.” Heavy flooding in Venezuela has left at least three people dead and four more missing, the country’s President Nicolas Maduro said.
In Barbados, fishing communities and the coastline were hit hard, Prime Minister Mia Mottley said. A video shared on X showed large waves crashing onto a hotel balcony at Dover Beach.
On Tuesday, Beryl was classified by the National Hurricane Center as a Category 5 hurricane with record-breaking wind speeds of 165 mph, making it the most powerful July hurricane on record.
Beryl continues to weaken as it moves west across the Caribbean Sea toward the Gulf of Mexico, with sustained winds reaching approximately 145 mph as of 11 a.m. ET and moving at approximately 18 mph 75 miles from Jamaica’s capital, Kingston.
Wind speeds may weaken further by the time the storm reaches Jamaica, but Jamaican authorities have said this is a significant weather event that should not be taken lightly, with storm surges expected to raise water levels by six to nine feet above normal.
“Damaging hurricane-force winds, life-threatening storm surge and destructive waves are expected across parts of Jamaica starting this afternoon and the Cayman Islands early Thursday,” the National Hurricane Center said in a statement early Wednesday. Even if Beryl does not make landfall in Jamaica, it could still cause devastating damage when winds are expected to be at their strongest between 12:00 and 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
“If you live in low-lying areas, in areas historically prone to flooding or landslides, or on the banks of rivers, we ask you to evacuate to evacuation centres or safer areas,” Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness said in a video statement on Tuesday.
Casey and Warner Haley, of Knoxville, Tennessee, were married Saturday and were enjoying their honeymoon when they were told they had to spend the night at a resort in Montego Bay.
“The weather was perfect yesterday morning. We went snorkeling and kayaking, but by the time we got back the forecast had changed,” Casey, 23, said in a phone interview Wednesday.
The couple immediately contacted a travel agent, who told them there were no flights available, and were told the same thing at the airport.
“It was literally the end of the world,” Casey said. “We went to every airline counter and said, ‘Can you take us anywhere, especially within the United States, literally anywhere?’ And they all said, ‘No, we’re fully booked.'”
Casey said her local grocery store was packed, queues stretched deep and it was “total frenzy.”
No mandatory evacuations have been ordered at the resort, but meeting rooms are open to help guests ride out the hurricane.
Holness said the country’s security forces were planning to thwart looting and other crimes of opportunity once the hurricane had passed.
A hurricane warning has also been issued for the Cayman Islands, where Beryl is expected to pass through late Wednesday into Thursday, bringing hurricane-force winds and a storm surge that is expected to cause flooding two to four feet above normal water levels.
“Beryl is expected to remain a dangerous hurricane as it passes near Jamaica over the next 12 hours, the Cayman Islands early Thursday and the Yucatan Peninsula on Friday,” the center said.
Courtney Howell, a fisherman from Kingston, told Reuters that Jamaicans were used to hurricanes.
“This one is more dangerous than the last one. But I’m not scared because I’m used to it and have been there many times. So coming this time is just another experience,” he said.
Tropical storm warnings were issued for the southern coast of Haiti and the eastern coast of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula.
It’s unclear where Beryl is headed or how large it might be, but officials in Texas aren’t taking any chances. The Texas Emergency Management Agency said people who live or will be visiting coastal areas on Independence Day should heed warnings and have plans in place if the weather worsens.
“As Texans take time to enjoy the holiday weekend with family and friends, it’s important that they continue to stay weather conscious, pay close attention to rapidly changing forecasts and avoid being caught out without an emergency plan,” Texas Emergency Management Director Nim Kidd said in a statement.
